News items that look towards Ezekiel 38 & 39

[Shammu]

On Thursday, Mr. Saakashvili and other government officials had said that the state of emergency could end soon. Mr. Bokeria said Friday that the government would almost certainly revisit the decision before Nov. 22. “We are sure that it will be lifted sooner,” he said after the vote.

The government’s actions were denounced at home, and a news anchor who works at the closed Imedi-TV accused the government of deliberately destroying the station.

“We understand that the main aim of the government and the special forces was not to stop our broadcast but to crash and break everything inside our station and terrorize the staff,” said the anchorman, Giorgi Targamadze, by telephone. “If they wanted us to stop our broadcast, they could have given us one piece of paper about the emergency order. We are very loyal to the Constitution and we would have stopped broadcasting.”

Mr. Targamadze, who on Wednesday night had broadcast live briefly as the station was seized by the police, said the station’s archive was also destroyed or removed. He dismissed the government’s allegations that the station had called for illegal actions. “All the people in Georgia, even international organizations who are monitoring our broadcasts, know that is fully false information,” he said.

 In a bid to end the crisis and test his own standing, Mr. Saakashvili on Thursday had announced on national public television that new presidential elections would be held on Jan. 5, saying he needed a new mandate from Georgia’s people to continue to serve.

He also said that a national referendum would be held the same day to determine whether parliamentary elections should be held next spring or next fall. The opposition greeted the decision for snap elections as a sign that Mr. Saakashvili recognized that both the legitimacy of his government and the stability of Georgia were at stake, but also expressed worries about the potential for a fair and open vote.

The confirmation of the state of emergency was treated in Washington and in Tbilisi as a backward step. Mr. Bryza, the deputy assistant secretary of state, said that lifting the state of emergency immediately and restoring all independent television broadcasting was necessary for the legitimacy of the upcoming elections. “These steps are crucial for ensuring that the elections are free and fair,” he said.

He also said that he would urge the opposition, which has asked the United States to list the government as a terrorist organization, and carried signs of Mr. Saakashvili with a Hitler-style mustache, to negotiate civilly. “Dubbing a president a dictator or terrorist — that is not constructive,” he said.

Mr. Targamadze said Georgia’s citizens, who would have trouble hearing Mr. Bryza’s remarks because of the broadcasting restrictions, would welcome Washington’s position as word of it circulated through the country.

“It is very important for us,” he said. “The most important thing on our mind in Georgia, and I am very afraid, is that all of these bad things and crucial things that are happening in Georgia are associated with the United States. I know this is not true. But it is very hard for the people who are in Georgia to understand this because they see that the United States as Georgia’s main foreign partner.”

Until the government’s moves this week, Georgia had been embraced by Washington as a nation in difficult corner of the world that dared to pursue ambitious reforms. Mr. Saakashvili, who himself rose to power on peaceful demonstrations in 2003, known as the Rose Revolution, had led his government through an effort to gain entrance to NATO and the European Union, and had assumed the role of a champion of democracy and political freedom in the Caucasus.

He secured strong relations with the Bush administration in part by sending thousands of Georgian soldiers to the American-led coalition in Iraq, and has pledged to send a smaller contingent to Afghanistan next spring. Educated at Columbia University and fluent in several languages, including English, he has been a frequent contributor to editorial pages in Western newspapers, where he has written about democratic values and scolded corrupt and autocratic governments elsewhere.

President Bush visited the country in 2005, and addressed a massive crowd in the capital’s former Lenin Square, where he praised the country’s progress. It was the first visit by an American president to Georgia, and left a stamp of American approval on the Saakashvili government, which renamed a main road after Mr. Bush.

Mr. Bryza made clear that the enduring state of emergency in Tbilisi, and the suppression of the media, has called into question both Mr. Saakashvili’s credibility and Georgia’s standing on the Western stage. He said that Georgia a might yet recover its international standing as a state seeking reform and access to Western institutions, but that the government would have to act decisively and clearly.

“They have a chance to turn things around if there is absolute clarity that whatever vote there is free and fair, and they restore momentum on democratic reform,” he said. “Then one could make the case that Georgia had weathered a serious hiccup, and democracy is vibrant. But that is a big ‘if.’

“We are counting on President Saakashvili to show the same vision and leadership that he showed during the Rose Revolution,” Mr. Bryza added. “The country is anxious for that kind of leadership now.”

Tbilisi was calmer on Friday and the police presence much lighter than Thursday, when platoons roamed the streets. But resident complained of an absence of information because of the ban on independent media.

There was at least one sign of misgivings within Mr. Saakashvili’s government as well. Levan Mikeladze, the ambassador from Georgia to Switzerland and its head of mission to international organizations in Geneva, released a public letter announcing his resignation.

Georgian Parliament Confirms Emergency Rule

[Shammu]

Georgian Orthodox Patriarch Mediating Crisis
By Peter Fedynsky

09 November 2007

Fedynsky report - Download MP3 (677k)

The Parliament of Georgia has unanimously approved President Saakashvili's 15-day state of emergency following preliminary government and opposition reconciliation talks under the auspices of the country's Orthodox Patriarch. VOA Correspondent Peter Fedynsky has this report from Tbilisi.

Approval of the 15-day state of emergency was unanimous thanks to a boycott by 101 opposition lawmakers. This allowed the remaining 149 pro-government deputies to vote as one in favor of the controversial measure, which will keep independent news broadcasts off the air until the state of emergency is lifted. President Saakashvili has the option of ending it sooner.

The Georgian leader announced the state of emergency on Wednesday after riot troops used force to break up anti-government demonstrations in Tbilisi.

Also Friday, the Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Ilia II, held separate meetings in Tbilisi with representatives of the government and opposition in hopes of reconciling the two sides.

Pro-government lawmaker Khatuna Gogorishvili participated. In remarks to the VOA, she said the Patriarch is an individual that appeals to reason, not emotions.

Unfortunately, says Gogorishvili, some of our colleagues from the opposition understand the words dialogue and talks as ultimatum. To sit behind a table with them does not mean we agree with all of their demands.

Opposition members agree with Gogorishvili about the issue of consensus. But Goga Khaindrava, who met with the Patriarch as an opposition representative, told VOA that the government is standing in the way of a dialogue. Khaidrava was President Saakashvili's former Conflict Resolutions Minister.

Khaindrava says the president's words usually amount to public relations. He told the entire world he'll do this, that and the other, but repressions against our colleagues continue nevertheless.

The former presidential ally said the opposition will only talk with Saakashvili under the condition that the first meeting be held in the presence of Patriarch Ilia. Speaking to reporters after talks with both sides, the Church leader praised the decision to hold early presidential elections.

The president's smart decision to hold early elections relieves mounting tensions in Georgia. Ilia also called on Georgians to maintain the peace and to speak properly with one another.

The date of Georgia's presidential election was a major factor in six days of opposition protests in Tbilisi. The opposition wanted the date moved up from November to March. The president initially refused, but then went even further, setting the date for January 5. This gives the opposition little time to agree on a candidate and to mount a campaign. Some analysts say this will favor the president, but former minister Khaindrava says Mr. Saakashvili is so discredited that the opposition will win the election.

Georgian Orthodox Patriarch Mediating Crisis

[Shammu]

Israel training intensively for nuclear strike on Iranian nuclear plants
By Reuven Koret  November 10, 2007

With no alternative but to fight fire with fire, the Israel Air Force is training for a tactical nuclear strike on Iranian nuclear production facilities. As hope fades for a diplomatic solution to Iran's development of enriched uranium for production of weapons with the primary purpose of destroying Israel, the IAF is practicing for a mission to destroy key Iranian facilities, at least one with low-yield nuclear munitions, the Times of London reported.

Citing "several Israeli sources," the Times said that two IAF squadrons are training to blow up an Iranian facility using a combination of precision laser bombs and low-yield nuclear "bunker-busters". The Times report was supplemented by one from Fox News.

The attack would be the first with nuclear weapons since 1945, when the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Israeli weapons would each have a force equivalent to one-fifteenth of the Hiroshima bomb, the Times said.

Under the plans, the report said, conventional laser-guided bombs would open shafts into the targets. Then the "mini-nukes" would then be fired into a plant at Natanz, exploding deep underground to reduce the risk of radioactive fallout.

"As soon as the green light is given, it will be one mission, one strike and the Iranian nuclear project will be demolished," said one of the sources.

Israeli intelligence recently announced that Iran is on the verge of producing enough enriched uranium to make nuclear weapons by 2009. Meir Dagan, head of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service, told the Knesset, Israel's parliament, also believes that the Iranians will have a complete nuclear device by 2009.

Conventional strikes, IDF commanders believe, are insufficient to destroy the deeply buried enrichment facilities, which are reportedly built beneath at least 70 feet of concrete and rock and surrounded by dozens of Iranian anti-aircraft batteries.

Israel has identified three prime targets south of Tehran believed to be central to Iran's nuclear program, the Times reported:

Natanz, where thousands of centrifuges are being installed for uranium enrichment;

A uranium conversion facility near Isfahan where, according to a statement by an Iranian vice-president last week, 250 tons of gas for the enrichment process have been stored; because this is located near a city of 4.5 million people, Israeli may opt to use conventional munitions here.

A heavy water reactor at Arak, which may in future produce enough plutonium for a bomb.

Israeli officials believe that destroying all three sites would delay Iran's nuclear program for years and prevent the Jewish State from living in fear of a "second Holocaust," a mounting threat since Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has been declaring that "Israel must be wiped off the map" and promoting the desirability of "a world without Israel."

Dr. Ephraim Sneh, the former deputy Israeli defense minister, said last month: "The time is approaching when Israel and the international community will have to decide whether to take military action against Iran." But he lamented that "At the end of the day it is always down to the Jews to deal with the problem."

But the United States is believed to be backing away from military action in Iran, and the new US defense secretary, Robert Gates, has described a strike against Iranian targets as a "last resort", leading Israelis to believe that it will be left to the IAF to strike. Israeli sources do not believe that the US is likely to give explicit permission for Israel to use tactical nukes.

The Times, citing Israeli sources, said Israeli pilots have flown to Gibraltar in recent weeks to train for the 2,000-mile round trip to the Iranian targets.

The report said that the air force squadrons are based at Hatzerim in the Negev desert and Tel Nof, south of Tel Aviv, under the personal supervision of Major General Eliezer Shkedy, commander of the Israeli Air Force, training to use Israel's arsenal of tactical nuclear weapons on the mission.

The strike is expected to release nuclear material from the plants, rendering the facilities uninhabitable and crippling their reconstruction.

The Israelis believe that Iran's expected retaliation would be constrained by fear of an Israeli second strike.

The leak of a possible nuclear option by Israel may be intentional, US analysts have said. "In the cold war, we made it clear to the Russians that it was a virtual certainty that nukes would fly and fly early," said an American defense source. "Israel may be adopting the same tactics: 'You produce a weapon; you die'."

Israel training intensively for nuclear strike on Iranian nuclear plants

[Shammu]

We as Christians know this is going to happen. When all this hits the fan, the rest of the world is gonna freak. 

All this news today....... peace talks, Russian/muslim alliances, Syria saber rattling sure does give merit to the idea that they all sorta take place very closely together.

So make sure to help spread the Word today by And may

[Shammu]

Iran Makes Highly Advanced War Simulator

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Iranian army succeeded in designing and producing the most advanced simulator of classic and modern wars.
   
The computer simulator which uses satellite connections to link 100 computer systems is used for practicing the latest methods of the deployment of troops, tactical structures and force buildup.

The system can be used in defense and offence arrangements and positions in both classic and modern wars.

Iran Makes Highly Advanced War Simulator

[Shammu]

Iran, Armenia Sign Defense Cooperation Memo

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- The defense chiefs of Armenia and Iran signed a memorandum on cooperation between the two countries' military departments in Yerevan on Thursday.
   
Armenia's Defense Minister Mikael Harutiunian and his Iranian counterpart Major General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar stressed the importance of the event for the two countries' future cooperation after signing the document.

"I find it necessary to mention once again that the consistent policy in this issue will be consolidated by the atmosphere of trust that has been formed over centuries and will serve as a ground for cooperation in the future for the benefit of the peaceful existence of the two friendly nations," Harutiunian said.

"At the same time, steps are being made to deepen cooperation in the area of supply of foodstuffs and items between the Etka and Zinar companies of the Defense Ministry of Iran and the Defense Ministry of Armenia, respectively," Harutiunian added.

Iranian Defense Minister Major-General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, who has been on a three-day visit to Armenia since Tuesday, said that the relations between the relations between Armenia and Iran can serve as a good example of warm and friendly relations between two countries.

"Security and cooperation are needed for a stable economic development of the region's countries. Iran wants to have stable and firm relations with all its neighbors," the Iranian defense chief emphasized.

The delegation led by Mostafa Mohammad Najjar was also received by President Robert Kocharian.

According to Kocharian's press service, Minister Mohammad Najjar conveyed to the Armenian president warm greetings from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The sides reportedly stressed the high level of Armenian-Iranian relations, attaching importance to the agreements reached by the two countries' presidents in the matter of further developing this cooperation.

Iran, Armenia Sign Defense Cooperation Memo

[Shammu]

Lebanese Spiritual Leader Calls on Palestinians to Revive Intifada

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Lebanon's most senior Shiite Muslim cleric Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah called on the Palestinian nation to revive its popular uprising - the Intifada - against the Zionist regime.

Addressing Muslim worshippers in Beirut on Friday, Fadlallah blasted the US for its efforts to undermine the oppressed nations.

"While the United States claims that it is promoting freedom and democracy in different world countries, particularly in our Arab and Islamic region, a review of its political and security strategies shows that the US seeks to undermine the oppressed nations of the world in a bid to attain its interests and control the world economy, specially through dominating the Middle-East oil reserves," he said.

Beirut's Friday prayers leader further described the Zionist regime as an aggressor and enemy of Arabs, Muslims and Palestinian nation, and slammed the US and certain European states for praising Israel as the only democratic country in the region.

He also criticized Arab leaders for giving concessions to the Zionist regime and serving interests of the Tel Aviv as a result of US pressures.

"Following the US pressures, some of the leaders of the Arab states gave big concessions to the Zionist regime and regulated their plans and programs in line with the interests of the Zionist regime in such a way that the strategic Arab-Zionist regime issue has now been restricted to the Palestinian-Zionist regime conflict," Fadlallah said.

"The situation has grown so worse that some of the Arab officials describe the Zionist enemy as their friends and view the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance as the only impediment to their friendship," he added.

The Lebanese Shiite leader further called on the Palestinian nation to blow a new spirit into its Intifada in a bid to display that its resistance will continue until the attainment of final and complete victory.

Elsewhere, he pointed to the ongoing insecurities in Iraq, and took the United States' double-standards and dual policies as responsible for the cumbersome conditions of the Iraqi people, adding that the said policies have turned instability and insecurity into the main features of the Iraqi society today.

"The United States seeks to shrink from the heavy burden of its failure in Iraq through pressurizing Syria, sparking problems in Lebanon and posing frequent threats to Iran under the pretext of Tehran's nuclear activities," the Lebanese spiritual leader concluded.

Lebanese Spiritual Leader Calls on Palestinians to Revive Intifada

[Shammu]

Malaysia Pleased to Expand Iran Business

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- While Western businesses are warned by the US to keep away from Iran, Malaysian companies have taken up the slack.

Malaysia, a member of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), is to hold talks with Iran about strengthening ties.

The Malaysian government says it will work with its own private sector to explore possible ways to boost economic and trade cooperation with the Islamic Republic.

Malaysian government economists say Iran has a very strong reputation for prompt payments to contractors who have done business in the past.

Malaysia Pleased to Expand Iran Business

[Shammu]

Expansion of Iran-Malaysia Ties

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- First Vice-President Parviz Davoudi called on Iranian and Malaysian officials to utilize the existing potentials and possibilities to further expand ties between the two countries.

Davoudi made the remarks in a meeting with Malaysian Minister in charge of Investment Dao Norovavi here in Tehran on Saturday, where the Iranian vice-president appreciated Malaysia's principled stances in support of the Islamic Republic at international bodies, describing Kuala Lumpur as a Muslim friend which has always sided with Iran.

He further noted Malaysia's presidency in the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), and called on Muslim countries to utilize their ample potentials and possibilities to serve the interests of their nations through boosting cooperation.

Davoudi also noted Iran's foreign investment possibilities, and voiced Tehran's preparedness to further deepen and develop mutual ties with Malaysia in different grounds, joint ventures, modern technologies, telecommunication and housing in particular.

For his part, the Malaysian minister voiced pleasure in the two countries' developing relations, and underlined that Kuala Lumpur has not set a limit on the expansion of its ties with Tehran.

He reiterated that Malaysia attaches much significance to the promotion of its relations with Muslim countries, specially Iran, and stated Kuala Lumpur's readiness to further deepen mutual ties with Tehran in all the different areas.

Expansion of Iran-Malaysia Ties

[Shammu]

Iranian, Pakistani Presidents to Sign IPI Pipeline Contract Next Month

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Iranian and Pakistani presidents are expected to sign by next month the final contract on a $7.4 bln pipeline project which would take Iran's gas to Pakistan and India, a senior Iranian oil ministry official said here on Saturday.

Head of Tehran's negotiating team in the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline talks, Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, said that the two sides had made the final revisions and agreed on the final version of the contract in their last round of talks in Tehran.

Meantime, Ghanimifard, who is also the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) director for international affairs, said that Iranian and Pakistani engineers are yet to work out an operation agreement which will be supplemented to the contract before it is signed by the two countries' presidents.

He said the supplementary document, which will certainly be prepared within the next 30 days, will include some remaining technical points like point of delivery and gas pressure at delivery point.

The official underlined that the project would yield much profit to both sides, reminding that Tehran and Pakistan have originally started negotiations due to the huge gains that they perceived the project would yield in future.

"In the last round of talks with Iranian negotiators, the Pakistani oil minister extended an obvious welcome to the export of Iran's gas to India and china via his country's territory," Ghanimifard said.

He said Iran should not merely focus on exporting gas to India as the present trend of consumption shows that Asia will have a growing market for gas supplies in the near future.

"Thus, we should pay attention to the regional market as well," the official added.

Iranian, Pakistani Presidents to Sign IPI Pipeline Contract Next Month

[Shammu]

Turkey approves building nuclear plants

Fri Nov 9, 2:18 PM ET

ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey's parliament approved a bill Friday allowing for the construction of nuclear power plants in the country, despite opposition from environmental groups.
ADVERTISEMENT

Turkey first announced plans to build a reactor in 1996, but the project was put on hold because of financial problems, and the chosen location, near the Mediterranean coast, was near an earthquake-prone region.

No specific sites have been chosen, but in the past the Turkish government has approved building its first nuclear power plants in the Black Sea province of Sinop, on the northern tip of Turkey.

Local fishermen fear a plant at Sinop, with its cooling system, would raise water temperatures and harm the fish. Others were concerned that coastal residents already were affected by the nuclear accident at Chernobyl two decades ago.

Earlier this year, thousands protested in Sinop after the government announced the region was chosen as a location for the country's first nuclear reactor. Environmental groups are pressing the government to seek alternative energy sources.

The government has said it plans to build three nuclear power plants by 2015 to meet the country's growing energy needs. Turkey has limited energy resources, relying on natural gas supplies from Iran and Russia.

Turkey approves building nuclear plants

[Shammu]

Iranian Police hold 180 in Iran religious clash-report
11 Nov 2007 15:09:01 GMT
Source: Reuters

TEHRAN, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Police detained 180 people in a western Iranian city after unrest involving Sufi Muslims, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported on Sunday.

Details about Saturday night's incident were unclear and could not be independently confirmed.

Sufi Muslims have in the past clashed with the authorities in predominantly Shi'ite Muslim Iran. Sufism, a form of mystical Islam, is tolerated in Iran but some of its religious leaders have called for a clampdown on the group.

Fars News Agency said the trouble began when Sufis attacked a mosque in Boroujerd, about 320 km (200 miles) southwest of Tehran, prompting scuffles between Sufis and their opponents.

"The region's security forces strove to prevent the tension from escalating and, to this end, 180 people were also detained and handed over to the judicial authorities," Fars reported, as monitored by the BBC.

It quoted a senior provincial governor as saying about 80 people were hurt but said most injuries were light.

Around 1,000 Sufis were arrested last year during clashes with authorities over the closure of a Sufi prayer house in the holy city of Qom. Fifty-two of them were sentenced to a year in jail, 74 lashes, and fines on various charges.

Although Sufis are tolerated, their belief in the mystical path to God through dance and music can rankle some within the religious establishment of the Islamic Republic. Some religious leaders have called Sufis a "danger to Islam".

Sufism is best known in the West for its "whirling dervish" dances and for the mystical poetry of 13th-century Persian poet Jalal ad-din Rumi whose works have been bestsellers in the United States.

Iranian Police hold 180 in Iran religious clash-report

[Shammu]

Nasrallah: IDF border drills show Israel gearing up for new war
By The Associated Press
tags: Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah

The leader of the militant Hezbollah group said Sunday that the Israel Defense Forces' recent military exercises near the Lebanese border were intended to prepare for a new war on Lebanon.

"The enemy has been conducting military maneuvers for months. The latest maneuvers occurred a few weeks ago near the Lebanese border in which 50,000 Israeli officers and soldiers participated," Hassan Nasrallah told a Hezbollah rally in south Beirut. "These maneuvers are to prepare for an attack on Lebanon," he said.

He said Hezbollah's military maneuvers in southern Lebanon last week were carried out in response to the IDF drills and were designed to send out a clear message to Israel that his fighters were ready to defend Lebanon if it was attacked again by Israel.

"I tell the [Israeli] enemy that these maneuvers were real, serious and big. I am not going to give details. There is a great deal of readiness [by Hezbollah] which the enemy must understand," Nasrallah said in his speech Sunday.

"These maneuvers were intended to send out a clear message to the world which is besieging us and to this enemy that that the resistance in Lebanon possesses determination, men and the necessary and sufficient weapons to defend Lebanon," the black-turbaned cleric said, drawing cheers from the crowd.

Without elaborating, he added, "The resistance is ready to make a victory for Lebanon that will change the region's face."

The rally, attended by several thousand Hezbollah supporters waving the group's yellow banners and the Lebanese flag, was organized by the group to mark Lebanon's Martyr's Day.

Hezbollah's deputy leader Sheikh Naeem Kassem last week confirmed that the group had staged its largest-ever military maneuver near the border with Israel, claiming that the exercise was intended as preparations to counter Israeli plans for war.

Kassem told the Israeli Arab newspaper Sawat al-Balad that the maneuvers were "large and important parts of our preparation so that we won't be surprised." It was the first interview of the kind given since the maneuvers were first reported.

The pro-Hezbollah Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported last Monday that thousands of the group's guerrillas had staged the exercise near Israel's border in southern Lebanon, but Prime Minister Fuad Saniora later said the reported exercise was probably just a simulation.

Israel Air Force warplanes dropped flares over the southern Lebanon hours after Hezbollah officials confirmed the exercise.

Monday's report in marked the first time Hezbollah, with its highly secretive military wing, revealed such exercises through a close newspaper. The maneuvers, if confirmed, could pose a major challenge to a UN-brokered cease-fire that ended last year's war with Israel.

Nasrallah: IDF border drills show Israel gearing up for new war

[Shammu]

He said Hezbollah's military maneuvers in southern Lebanon last week were carried out in response to the IDF drills and were designed to send out a clear message to Israel that his fighters were ready to defend Lebanon if it was attacked again by Israel.

"I tell the [Israeli] enemy that these maneuvers were real, serious and big. I am not going to give details. There is a great deal of readiness [by Hezbollah] which the enemy must understand," Nasrallah said in his speech Sunday.

"These maneuvers were intended to send out a clear message to the world which is besieging us and to this enemy that that the resistance in Lebanon possesses determination, men and the necessary and sufficient weapons to defend Lebanon," the black-turbaned cleric said, drawing cheers from the crowd.

The UN raced to end the Israeli Lebanese conflict with pledges to disarm Hizbolla, and to hermetically seal the border with Syria as to stop the arms flow from both Syria and Iran.

Their failure to follow through with their commitments will probably mean that Israel will eventually have another war with Lebanon, to the detriment of Israel and more so the many good people of Lebanon who have no interest for conflict with Israel.

Where is the UN accountability? Why aren`t their fingers pointing at Syria and Iran? Nooooo, they are too busy making resolutions against Israel?

Without elaborating, he added, "The resistance is ready to make a victory for Lebanon that will change the region's face."

Want to bet....... The changes will be made to Lebanon and the whole mideast. I've read God's Word, God wins, we win in the end.

[Shammu]

Iranian FM: Israel is no military match for Tehran
By The Associated Press
tags: Israel

Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Israel poses no military threat to Iran, adding that any aggression on Israel's part would spark retaliation and accusing Israel of trying to sabotage relations between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"The Zionist regime [Israel] is less than nothing to pose any kind of threat to Iran," ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told reporters Sunday when questioned about recent comments on Tehran's nuclear program made by Israeli officials.

It was not clear what Israeli threat Hosseini was referring to, but his statement came as Iran continues to defy international demands that it suspends uranium enrichment, a process that can produce fuel for a nuclear reactor or fissile material for a bomb.
   Advertisement
The United States has said it is pursuing diplomatic angles with Tehran for now, but has not ruled out military action as a way to halt Iran's nuclear enrichment, claiming it is using it as cover for weapons development, a charge Iranians deny.

Israel has said it views Iran as a strong threat, but most analysts think any Israeli military operation is unlikely at this point Hosseini warned Israel not to consider military action. In case it does, it will be faced with unprecedented response from Iran, Hosseini said, without elaborating.

He said Israeli threats were geared at preventing a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear standoff. Israelis many times have raised such things in order to undermine cooperation between Iran and the (UN) International Atomic Energy Agency, he said.

In 1981, Israel bombed a nuclear reactor in Iraq to prevent Saddam Hussein from developing nuclear weapons. While Israel neither acknowledges nor denies possessing nuclear arms, it is thought to have about 100-200 nuclear warheads, according to a 2006 report by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

Iran said Wednesday it has stepped up uranium enrichment activities by fully running 3,000 centrifuges at its nuclear plant in the central city of Natanz. It would take some 54,000 centrifuges to fuel a reactor.

Iranian FM: Israel is no military match for Tehran